Black Metallic 2 Painting

I have been a self-employed freelance all my working life. Music has always been a motivation and a passion with me and I have been lucky enough to work as a photographer with many of the major record companies from Virgin, EMI, Sony, Island Records, Geffen, 4AD and many more, including a large collection of the 'underground' independent record labels and magazines. This enabled me to utilise my creativity in the ways I had hoped, and for many years was my main focus. Later on I took a step back from music photography to pursue my interest in the horticultural world, working both independently and also for many of the respected horticultural magazines in the UK including Gardens Illustrated, The English Garden and BBC Gardeners World to name a few. I was recognised by the Royal Horticultural Society with various awards, including a first prize for 'Plant Portraiture' in their Garden Photographer of the Year Awards. Plant photography continues to be a passion. Apart from the desire to paint what comes to me from the mood and visual imagery of music, added inspiration is found through the seasons, the elements, and the textures of nature. Many of the techniques I use in much of my abstract work mimics, to an extent, the actions of nature. The ideas of weathering, decay and erosion can be visually alluded to with the layering, removing and re-working of the paint. Again a similarity can be seen in the way music is layered, mixed and composed. I love the way nature, combined with time, will affect all it comes into contact with, from algae and lichen growing, wood rotting, rock being worn smooth, the rusting of metals and old peeling paint. I will occasionally make a subtle ecological point too..... To allow the elements of chance and accident and to let imperfections be included and embraced are an integral part of my process. I strive to create a balance between these two elements. I often feel a kind of fear needs to be overcome, to find the hidden things waiting to be found, to control certain parts of the image while letting other areas evolve naturally. One of my aims is to create a visual landscape that can become a journey around the canvas. There are often abstracts within the abstract, small areas that would be paintings in themselves if enlarged. A visual immediacy is important together with the ability to sustain the eye for the longer term and repeated viewing.